Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Entertainment & Performing Arts

Another bumper collection of classic fun and games from one of BBC Radio 4's best-loved and most enduring comedy panel games. The inimitable Humphrey Lyttelton is in the chair for these 25 hilarious editions (including the very first episode from 1972) plus two volumes of vintage 'Live' recordings (ad libs, retakes, warm-ups and all), a 35th anniversary special edition, and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Desert Island, in which famous fans Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent and Germaine Greer choose their favourite 'Clue' moments.

In these 24 episodes, Tom Wrigglesworth phones home for his weekly check-in, giving us a funny, fascinating glimpse into his family background and the influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and hang-ups. As the conversations unfold, Tom takes time out from the calls to explain the situation and his parents’ reactions, and relate various anecdotes from the past which illustrate his family's views. And sometimes he just needs to sound off about life’s everyday annoyances. 

Set during World War Two, Hut 33 follows the adventures of a team of codebreakers at Bletchley Park as they work tirelessly to break German codes, matching wits with the fabled Enigma Machine. Unfortunately, they hate each other. Archie is a stroppy Geordie socialist revolutionary while Professor Charles Gardner is a toffee-nosed snob. In theory, the immensely stupid 3rd Lt. Joshua Featherstonhaugh-Marshall is in charge of the hut, but he is still struggling with even the most basic concepts....

Few can forget where they were in September 1993 when they first heard Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation. The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. Since that fateful first series, the show has gone on to win Sony awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Included here are all 10 series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation.

Sixteen TV soundtracks from the award-winning TV show collected together for the first time, starring David Jason as ambitious market trader Del Boy Trotter and Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother, Rodney Trotter. For 15 years the brothers of Trotters Independent Traders PLC have entertained us both with Del's extreme optimism and scams and, quite simply, Rodney's reactions upon hearing those scams.

Welcome to Fawlty Towers, where attentive hotelier Basil Fawlty and his charming wife Sybil will attend to your every need - in your worst nightmare. With hapless waiter Manuel and long-suffering waitress Polly on hand to help, anything could happen during your stay - and probably will. John Cleese’s special introductions to each episode are included in this collection of all 12 TV soundtrack episodes.

Dinnerladies is a classic BBC sitcom based around the lives of the staff of the canteen at Manchester factory HWD Components. Written by and starring Victoria Wood a Brenda, these eight classic TV episodes are brilliantly funny, where the jokes fly as thick and as fast as granary torpedoes. Along with the day to day feeding the faces of folk, the canteen staff Bren, Twink, Jean (and all the others!) have to contend with the arrival of a royal onsite, a Japanese-themed party complete with costumes and the controversial delivery of new uniforms. 

Series 1 and 2 of the hilarious radio sitcom starring Harry H. Corbett and Wilfred Brambell, adapted from the much-loved TV series. Steptoe and Son ran for eight series on BBC TV and even spawned two feature films. Such was the series' popularity in the mid-1960s that the cast specially recorded several episodes for BBC radio. Here, collected together for the first time, are all 21 episodes from the first and second radio series, scripted by Hancock's Half Hour creators Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

Twenty episodes from the first BBC Radio series plus an hour-long Christmas special, starring Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, and Clive Dunn.

In 1973 the BBC adapted its hit TV series for radio, featuring the original TV cast and characters. Three series were broadcast between 1974 and 1976, with episodes adapted from their TV counterparts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.

A second wonderful collection of Just William stories, selected and read by Martin Jarvis. Richmal Crompton’s stories featuring irrepressible schoolboy William Brown have been firm favourites with both young and old for decades. Perpetually scruffy, mud-stained and mischievous, he is a lovable scamp whose pranks usually end in disaster - for his harassed elders at least. With friends Ginger, Douglas and Henry (the Outlaws) and the angelic thorn in his side, the lisping Violet Elizabeth Bott, William has rightly joined the literary and radio immortals.

Stephen Fry and John Bird star in all four series of the BBC Radio 4 satirical comedy, plus the 2006 special episode. Set in the Machiavellian world of modern PR, Absolute Power introduces us to London-based 'government-media relations consultancy' Prentiss McCabe, whose partners Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe are frequently embroiled in the machinations of the British political system.

The complete third and fourth series of BBC Radio 4’s award-winning sketch show, written by and starring the writer of Cabin Pressure. In the third and fourth series of his hit sketch show, John Finnemore examines a typically eclectic range of issues including making friends, the problem with polymath bestselling authors, the colour of posh men’s trousers, and a history of choice.

Sophie still lives at home with her mum in Hull. They make a living doing car boot sales at the weekend. Except they don't really make a living because her mum can't bear to get rid of any of their junk. Plus, they don't have a car. As their house gets more cluttered, Sophie feels more trapped. She dreams of moving to London to meet her dad and to become a famous actress. Will this dream ever come true?

Sir John Woodstock (James Fleet) is the Lord of the Castle and basically in charge of keeping order in the ramshackle medieval village. Although he hates all that torturing and usually lets the peasants off with a bit of community service. He lives in his huge but slightly falling down castle (but then it was built by the French, so what can one expect) with his daughter Anne (Martha Howe-Douglas) and very teenage son Henry (Steven Kynman). Anne’s best friend Charlotte (Ingrid Oliver) nearly always joins Anne on her constant quest to find fit men in the village. 

A bumper collection of classic fun and games from one of BBC Radio 4's best-loved and most enduring comedy panel games. The inimitable Humphrey Lyttelton is in the chair for these 36 hilarious editions, collected together for the first time. He presides over regular players Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Willie Rushton, plus guests including Stephen Fry, Tony Hawks, Andy Hamilton, Paul Merton, Sandi Toksvig and Jeremy Hardy.

Thirteen classic BBC radio episodes starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. One of the most popular TV comedies of the 70s, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? won a best sitcom BAFTA and attracted an audience of millions before being adapted for radio. In these 13 episodes, we catch up with Newcastle lads Bob and Terry as they meet by chance after years apart. Now engaged to Thelma, Bob is having prewedding nerves, while Terry is having trouble adjusting to life after the army.

Miriam Margolyes, Alison Steadman and Nigel Planer star in Sue Limb's comedy parodying the arty and adulterous adventures of the Bloomsbury Group. A stellar cast, including Roger Lloyd-Pack, Morwenna Banks, Jonathan Coy and John Sessions, join in this affectionate send-up of the infamous Bloomsbury literary group, who dominated the English cultural scene in the early 20th century.

Psychotherapist Martha is reasonably compassionate, but deep down she's losing patience. It seems all her clients want to be something they are not, and it's driving them (and her) out of their minds. Across a series of 15-minute comedy vignettes, How Does that Make You Feel? offers a fly-on-the-wall view of Martha’s sessions, each one shedding more light on the lives of her entertaining clients. Starring Frances Tomelty, Roger Allam, Marcella Riordan, Tim McInnerny, Cathy Belton and Rebecca Saire. Produced and directed by Eoin O’Callaghan.

Twenty episodes from the second BBC Radio series, starring Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn. In 1973 the BBC adapted its hit TV series for radio, featuring the original TV cast and characters. Three series were broadcast between 1974 and 1976, with episodes adapted from their TV counterparts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles. Now you can enjoy once again these unique recordings, with a supporting cast including John Laurie, Arnold Ridley and Ian Lavender.

Produced by Sydney Lotterby of Yes Minister and Porridge fame. Each instalment featured a mixture of sketches (some foreshadowing Bennett's subsequent television dramas, others mocking television clichés, such as documentaries about working-class Northern writers and discussion programmes featuring pretentious critics). This is a never before broadcast compilation of sketches and extracts from the TV series before the tapes where wiped.